Sky Sword Sect.
At dawn.
A mountain range lies covered in fog, with a river flowing west from its depths.
Atop the tallest mountain, the mist thickens near the peak where a white building juts through the fog.
As sunlight hits its stone walls, the surface glows with shifting rainbow light.
Inside, a grand hall stretches out, and a throne at the far end opposite the entrance sits empty.
Wooden chairs line the walls on the other two sides, and several are occupied by middle-aged men and women whose bodies bear visible traces of beast blood.
One of them, Kruren, says, "Let's begin the meeting—everyone's here."
A woman, Riku, looks around and says, "I don't see Sato. Where is he?"
Another woman, Konasi, replies, "You've been in retreat for the past few weeks—you don't know what happened in the sect."
Riku nods slowly. "No, I don't. And why are the sect leader and the old elders not present?"
Konasi says, "The sect leader and some of the old elders are refining the Blood Spiritual Potion. The others have gone to resource sites or are completing missions."
Riku's eyes narrow. "The sect leader obtained the Blood Pearl?"
Konasi replies, "Asuna brought it back."
Riku smiles. "Truly, the proud disciple of the sect leader. How did she manage it?"
Nugen, another male elder, answers, "She protected it long enough, then the old elders sent their disciples to escort her safely."
Riku asks, "And what about the talks with the first prince?"
Kruren says, "They've hit a snag."
Riku frowns. "Why? You all know I'm stuck at the peak of the third turn in the Great Samurai Realm. I need the blood of a White Elephant at the Ascension Realm—only the first prince can provide that. If I delay and the sect leader breaks through to the True Core Realm before I do, then everything we've gained until now—"
She glares at them. "—We'll be forced to spit it all out."
Konasi says, "Riku, you know we want the deal with the first prince to succeed, too, but the situation has changed."
Riku says, "Tell me what happened while I was gone."
Konasi then explains everything that occurred during her absence.
Riku scoffs. "So the old man Hito failed to kill the boy. I always said that once an outer elder crosses fifty, they should be thrown out of the sect. Useless blood-sucking insects can't even kill a middle-ranking samurai."
Konasi replies, "The boy's talent surpasses yours. He killed a high-ranking beast on his own, so it's understandable he escaped Hito's grasp."
Riku's expression darkens. She believes anyone without beast blood is trash, meant to serve or be enslaved by those with beast blood. She reveres the beast clan ancestors.
"What good is his talent? His cultivation will end at the second turn of the Great Samurai Realm."
Konasi shakes her head at Riku's words.
She isn't as extreme and wouldn't even be part of the new elder group if she had a choice.
But when she entered the Sky Sword Sect, the entire sect was already split into two factions—one led by the old elders who, after reaching the second turn of the Great Samurai Realm, converted to the spiritual path.
All of them came from the western lands and had joined the Sky Sword Sect a hundred years ago, when the founder of the spiritual way was still alive.
The second faction, the new elders, were those with beast blood.
Though the two groups cultivated different paths, they required the same resources, and so, conflicts became inevitable.
When she joined, it was the most turbulent time in the sect's history.
The previous sect leader, who had beast blood, returned injured with only a few years left to live.
At that time, the old elders were the rising force, still suppressed by the then-established faction. The upcoming change in leadership became the perfect opportunity.
They won—and the new sect leader was a disciple of one of the old elders and a pure human.
Kruren says, "Did you forget how our masters lost influence over the sect? They also didn't think much of the pure human."
Riku glares at Kruren and snorts.
Konasi watches their exchange and glances at Kruren.
Did he do something?
In their group, Riku may be the strongest, but all decision-making power lies with Kruren, as his father is the sect's supreme elder and a peak Ascension Realm cultivator.
With his father's strength, they are still able to compete with the old elders, but the man doesn't have many years left—he used a forbidden method to break through to the Ascension Realm.
So the new elders need someone else to reach the Ascension Realm soon, and they chose Riku.
Kruren couldn't tolerate that.
He had once been just as talented as Riku, but during a mission, he burned his blood to survive a battle and has never fully recovered, unable to advance since.
Konasi asks, "What did you do? Is it related to why Sato is not present?"
Kruren says, "I sent Sato to capture the boy's family. We'll make the boy come to us."
Riku says distantly, "What a bastard."
Konasi says, "Kruren, did you not think about the reputation of our sect?"
Kruren snaps, "Konasi, I care more about the reputation of our sect than any of you. Did you forget my ancestor was one of the sect's founders?"
Jisoo, another female elder, says, "Calm down, Kruren. Everybody knows you're the most loyal to the sect, but Konasi is right. This could be detrimental and give the old elders a handle against us."
Jiku, another male elder, adds, "Yes, Kruren. Is there no other way?"
Kruren thinks they're all useless. "Did you all forget? In two or three months, the old elders will have refined the potion. That's all the time we have to make Asuna marry the first prince."
Konasi sighs, "You're right. We have to kill the boy quickly."
Just then, a shout rings out from outside.
They glance at each other, and everyone looks at Konasi, sensing the energy of her disciple.
Konasi says, "I stationed her at the bird-watching tower on my peak. If she's interrupting, it must be urgent."
The other elders nod.
Then Konasi says softly, "Let her enter."
Her voice is calm but carries clearly beyond the hall.
The two disciples standing guard open the door, and Misai, Konasi's disciple, steps in.
But every gaze is drawn not to her, but to the red envelope in her hands.
Konasi raises her hand, and the letter lifts from Misai's grip, landing in her palm.
She breaks the seal and begins reading.
As her eyes move down the page, they widen little by little until she falls silent, frozen in shock.
Jisoo, sitting beside her, notices the change and, curious, leans over to take the letter from Konasi's hand.
She reads it, and her expression mirrors Konasi's.
The letter passes from elder to elder, each reading it in turn, and each falling into stunned silence.
The contents strike them like thunder.
Three points stand out, each heavier than the last: The previous Blood Ancestor is dead.
The new Blood Ancestor is a pure human.
And the boy they planned to kill showed the strength of a Dharma Realm cultivator and helped slay the former Blood Ancestor.
Every line spells disaster.
They revere the beast blood running through their veins.
They've always believed the old rumour: the previous Dark Ancestor was not defeated by the founder of the Spiritual Way, but willingly sacrificed himself to stop the founder from using the people of the western continent in a forbidden ritual to reach the Ancestor Realm.
That belief solidified when the next Dark Ancestor turned out to be the son of the previous one.
After all, the Ancestor Realm cannot be cultivated into—it is said only those blessed by heaven may step into it.
So, when the son inherited the title, they saw it as heaven's response to the father's sacrifice.
The next news—that the new Blood Ancestor is from the pure human race—contradicts their long-held belief that pure humans are not blessed by heaven, as pure humans were thought to be limited to the second turn of the Great Samurai Realm.
Now, some can cultivate through the Spiritual Way—but most in the sect dismiss it as heretical, believing the rumour that the founder of the Spiritual Way tried to sacrifice all life on the western continent.
Yet, the new Blood Ancestor being a pure human and a Spiritual Master suggests that pure humans are also blessed by heaven, and that the Spiritual Way is not heretical.
The final news strikes the deepest blow—because of what they've done, their lives may now be at risk.
Nugen stands abruptly and begins to walk toward the hall's exit.
Kruren snaps out of his daze and asks, "Where are you going?"
Nugen replies, "Where else? To stop Sato."
Kruren scowls, "Why?"
Nugen says, "Did you not read the letter? If anything happens to Master Kanoru's family, we're all dead."
Kruren grits his teeth, "It's too late. Sato must already be returning to the sect—and by attacking his family, we've already made him our enemy."
Jisoo says quietly, "Even so… if we return his family unharmed and kneel to beg forgiveness, he might spare—for Asuna's sake."
Riku replies, "He may also kill us."
Everyone falls silent because she speaks the truth.
Riku continues, "And even if he doesn't, our future is finished."
Jiku asks, "Then what do you want us to do?"
As the sun begins to rise, Merin steps down from the carriage.
They are a few hours away from Blackstone Fortress.
He sits on a large stone and lets the warmth of the winter sun soak into his body.
While sitting, he begins to wonder how he can advance to the third turn of the Great Samurai Realm.
He has already discovered why pure humans cannot go beyond the second turn—the limitation lies in human vitality.
The samurai path draws power from the body's internal energy, but it still relies heavily on vitality.
Pure humans in this world possess vitality equal to early or mid Rank 3, and without a method to boost it quickly, their cultivation stalls.
But Merin knows how to cultivate vitality.
In the main world, in his tree body, he cultivated the Vitality Path and reached Rank 6.
Yet, the vitality path is extremely difficult, heavily dependent on rare resources.
He mutters to himself that if he wants to break through to the third turn of the Great Samurai Realm, he must deepen his understanding of his body.
And so, he decides—he has to stop cultivating the samurai way and shift entirely to the spiritual way.
He wants to stop because the first evolution of the spiritual machine in his dantian will take at least a few worlds, and to speed it up, he needs vitality.
To gather that vitality, he would need resources.
The only reason he cultivated to the second turn of the Great Samurai Realm was to discover how to break into the third—but now that he knows the barrier lies in vitality, there's no need to waste resources chasing something he can't yet solve.
He won't abandon the samurai path entirely, as the energy already flows within him.
It now moves on its own, without much effort.
One day, perhaps in a decade, he'll naturally reach the second turn of the Great Samurai Realm—without wasting any resources.
He can afford a decade.
His body is only fourteen years old.
After the Great Samurai Realm, he can live up to 120 years, and when he reaches the second turn, his lifespan will extend by fifteen more.
The spiritual path will further extend his life by twenty years when he reaches the Spiritual Core Realm, and another fifty years after the breakthrough to the Spiritual True Core Realm.
These gains do not overlap—they stack.
He must deepen his understanding of the material world to reach the Spiritual True Core Realm.
He will create a magical power through that understanding and refine his core into a true one.
His body also belongs to the material world.
So, he decides to begin with understanding his own body.
Then, he will study other human bodies and life forms.
Alongside this, he will increase his knowledge of plants and trees.
The understanding of his own body and others will help his current self in this world.
And the understanding of plants and trees will help his true body, his future.